Lackadaisical
by forsaken2003
Summary: Xander tries to help Spike after Buffy dies.


Title: Lackadaisical

Author: Forsaken2003

Pairing: Spike/Xander

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I own none.

Comments: Always welcomed!

Summary: Xander tries to help Spike after Buffy dies.

Warnings/Spoilers: Post The Gift.

Beta'd by: Unbeta'd

Prompt #554 from tamingthemuse - Lackadaisical

Note: From now on most of my tamingthemuse stories will be named as the challenge.

It had been three months since Buffy gave her life to save not only the world but for Dawn to have some sort of normal life. A life that Buffy herself never got to have. Everyday was a challenge for the group to deal with that fact that she was gone and never coming back. They had a discussion once about trying to bring her back but Giles told them no. That Buffy was now with Joyce and could finally rest. To pull her back here would be pulling her into hell itself. It took a while to finally convince Willow that where Buffy was, was for the best but she finally agreed and stopped looking for a spell.

Dawn moved in with Giles. They should have had to have gone through a lot of red tape but with Hank Summers not in the picture and most likely never would be and no one else in Sunnydale really cared. When Dawn's friends asked her where Buffy when she lied and told them she decided to move to L.A to be with the man that she loved. Her friends grilled her on why she'd rather stay in Sunnydale then go to L.A. She told the truth when she said that she wanted to finish school with her friends and then maybe she'd go to UCLA.

The Scooby's kept fighting, it was tough without a slayer but they'd done it before and they'd do it again. Xander started taking martial art lessons. He needed to be more useful now more than ever. They needed the muscle along with the witch craft and book knowledge; and since Spike hadn't been around since the night they buried Buffy Xander was the only option. And even though Xander was learning a lot they still needed help. Demons were starting to realize that there was no slayer guarding the hellmouth anymore and there were too many demons for them to handle on their own. They needed Spike. And Xander thought that Spike needed them.

Xander ended up finding Spike at Willy's one night. He heard that Spike had been spending most of his time there getting drunk and getting into fights. That was the only fighting he was doing lately. Once Xander found Spike he sat beside him and asked, "what's a guy like you doing in a dump like this?"

Spike turned his head clearly surprised to see Xander. He was so drunk that he's instincts didn't alert him that anyone was near. "W-What are you doing here, whelp? Shouldn't you and demon girl be shagging each others brains out?"

"I've come to see how you've been doing. And if you haven't been ignoring all of us you'd know that Anya took off a month ago. She decided she didn't want this life. She asked me if Buffy died what chances did she have of surviving?" Xander said, as he ignored the twinge in his heart. He couldn't blame her, hell there were days where he thought about picking up and leaving but he couldn't. He couldn't leave his friends... his family.

"Oh..." Spike said blinking surprised. He saw how much Xander and Anya loved each other. Hell he even knew that Xander had asked Anya to marry him. It was supposed to be a secret but with his vampire hearing Spike heard the proposal. Not that he'd ever tell anyone but he was happy for them. Someone should have a happy ending in this God forsaken town. "I'm sorry. Really."

Xander sighed. "Thanks. I miss her like crazy but I just want her to be happy."

"I know what it's like to miss someone you love. At least for you there is a chance Anya could come back." Spike took a gulp of his beer.

"I didn't come here to talk about people we love that we lost. I've come to ask you to come back and help us keep the world safe," Xander said.

Spike shook his head. "I only did that for her. There's no reason for me to do it anymore."

"What about Dawn?" Xander asked. Spike looked at him confused. "Buffy told me that she asked you to protect Dawn and you said until the end of the world. You've broken your promise to her. Buffy deserves better than that and you know it."

Spike sighed. As much as it hurt to admit Xander was right. Ever since Buffy's death Spike has become lackadaisical. Something he never thought he'd be once he was turned. "I don't know what to do," he replied honestly.

"Be a Scooby again," Xander answered. "Be with the people who understand what you're going through. With people you can actually talk to."

"I was never one of you, we both know that," Spike retorted. "You all barely tolerated me."

Guilt filled Xander. Spike was right none of them gave him a real chance to be part of the team. Even though Spike was helping them Xander was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. "You're right, we did and I'm sorry. We should have given you a chance but I'm trying to now. And to show you I mean it I'd like you to move in with me." Demons stopped and stared at the pair. "In my spare room," he elaborated. The demons snorted in disbelief but moved on. Xander focused his attention back on Spike. "Just try. If you hate being around us, you can tell us to 'sod off' and none of us will ever bother you again."

Spike stared at Xander trying to figure out if he was somehow being played. Xander looked and sounded sincere. Deciding he had nothing to lose Spike nodded. "Bring your car to my crypt tomorrow, we'll pack up what I own and take it back to your apartment."

"Sounds good," Xander said as he stood. "I'll leave you to your drinking." He started to make his way through the wave of demons when he heard Spike call his name. He turned around and saw Spike give him a nod and Xander knew that was as close to a thank you he'd get and honestly it was good enough for him. Buffy would be proud of not only Spike for sticking to his promise but she would be proud of Xander as well for finally accepting Spike as one of them. All Xander wanted to do was make Buffy proud and he hoped that where ever she was no matter how many idiotic things he did that she'd always been proud of him.

The End


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